Nightmare
by macs ace
Summary: What if Lucas' life was very different, what if Karen was the bad one, not Dan, Can anyone pull Lucas from his nightmare existence? AU and OOC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Tree Hill nor claim to, please don't sue!

**Storyline: **What if Lucas' life was very different, what if Karen was the bad one, not Dan, Can anyone pull Lucas from his nightmare existance?

Prologue

He has no friends, people don't talk to him, he thinks no-one notices him. In reality he's wrong.

From afar he's noticed, longed for, but in his head he's lonely, someone to be ashamed of. That's what he's been told his whole life. Since he was able to understand what it meant to be worthless and useless.

His father doesn't want him, his brother hates him. His mother is ashamed of him and his stepfather... well thats the worst.

He's no-one, nothing, worthless, pointless, there are more he can think of but he's in pain, and thinking only makes it worse.

He's Lucas Scott, failure, waste of space and all around hated figure.

He's quiet, he's learned to be that way, keeping quiet hurts less, remarks and screams just get you hit harder, punished more.

It's rarely noticeable to others and those incidents are ignored or easily explained away. The main punishment is reserved for his back, a belt, a cigarette, a fist, all have been experienced and will be again.

Its not possible to pinpoint what triggers a beating, it can be anything, burnt food, getting in the way, not hiding in his room, in fact sometimes its nothing at all, just a way for his stepfather to relieve his frustration. His mother does nothing , she welcomes it in fact. Why shouldn't he be beaten? He's the reason Dan left her, that's her reasoning anyway, if it wasn't for Lucas then Dan would still be with her and they'd be happy together. Thats what she tells Lucas every chance she gets. She's dilusional, Dan left for college not knowing that Karen was pregnant, he fell in love with Deb, had Nathan, returning to find Karen with Lucas, waiting for him.

Dan fell in love with Lucas the first time he laid eyes on him, his blue eyed, blonde haired angel. He wanted Lucas, wanted to be his daddy, wanted Nathan to have his big brother. Karen however didn't want a daddy for Lucas, she wanted Dan to marry her. Why should Lucas have Dan?

An ultimatum, either Dan married Karen and was a daddy for Lucas, or he couldn't talk to him, couldn't have a relationship with him, if he tried then Karen would take him away and Dan would never see Lucas again.

He desperately wanted his little boy but he had Deb and Nathan to think of. At least if he stayed away from Lucas then he could see him, that had to be better than nothing.

Nathan wanted his big brother. He had known since he was little that Lucas was his brother, Dan had warned him to stay away from Lucas, explaining that Karen would take him away and they'd never see him again.

So they both look from afar, one wanting his son, the other his big brother.

Karen had married when Lucas was 6, her husband Chris a cruel bastard. He would never lay a hand on Karen, he didn't hit women, children however were fair game, how else would they learn if they weren't taught lessons?

Lucas needed to be taught, Karen hated him, therefore it was logical to assume that he needed desperate teachings, plus it made Chris feel better after a long day.

Lucas is scarred, physically and mentally, no-one to love him, no-one to take away his pain, he's trapped in a nightmare.

_xxx_

**A/N: **Please review.


	2. Chapter One

**Storyline: **What if Lucas' life was very different, what if Karen was the bad one, not Dan, can anyone pull Lucas from his nightmare existance?

Chapter One

Lucas slowly slipped out of the front door, careful not to wake either his mother or Chris, he was already late for school, having had to clean the house and do the laundry before he left. It was either clean up and be late for school or get beaten for being lazy when he returned home and he'd had enough last night. His back was so painful, he was sure some of the hits had broken skin, but he was too afraid to check. He'd dealt with it before anyway, this time was no different, just as next time wouldn't be either.

He walked as quickly as he could bear with the pain ripping through him. He knew that his walk resembled that of a hunched old man, but it was less painful that way, standing straight just pulled the wounds and tender flesh on his back.

He always used the walk to school to reflect, the words that his mother had spat at him last night were swirling through his mind. Each hit he had recieved had been punctuated with vicious words from Karens' mouth, the words cutting almost as painfully as the belt Chris was using on his back.

_It was my own fault, _he thought. _I deserved it anyway, I should never have forgotten to get the dirty dishes from their room, I just didn't want to wake them up._

Chris had grabbed Lucas as soon as he had returned from school the previous day, yelling about Lucas being ungrateful and lazy. he hadn't removed the used plates from their bedroom, forgetting that they had eaten in their room the previous night. He didn't like to enter their room, he knew that if he was caught he would be beaten, but it had occurred anyway.

Lucas had curled up in a ball, holding back the racking sobs that were threatening as each hit of the belt connected with his body. His mother screaming viciously that he should never have been born, that she should have aborted him, that he should go ahead and die, no-one would miss him.

He had felt the belt cutting, tearing, bruising, he ached to scream, cry, but refrained, afraid of what the consequences might be if he did. Every so often he would feel a vicious kick hit him in the ribs, he knew this was his mother, Chris was always behind him, still hitting with the belt. Finally, Chris had tired and trying his hardest not to cry in front of them, Lucas had stumbled into his room quietly closing the door behind him, before curling up in a ball on the floor against the wall and silently sobbing into his knees. He had rocked back and forth before finally falling into a restless sleep.

Lucas shook his head, trying to remove the thoughts plaguing his weary mind. Thinking about it wouldn't help him. No use dwelling on what he couldn't change, couldn't hope to change.

_xxx_

Nathan spotted him instantly, he was sitting on the grass under a large tree, the book he had been reading was splayed across his chest, rising and falling with each slumbering breath. In sleep he looked troubled, he never looked relaxed, always looked ready to flee. Even when awake he was always guarded, yet he couldn't disguise the wearinness evident in his eyes. Nathan had noticed it many times, the defeated look that his big brother wore like a second skin, as if he didn't belong in this world. Each time he had met his brothers gaze Nate had ached for him, he looked so lost, lonely and empty, lifeless, soulless as if all fight had been taken out of him.

He had no idea what could drive someone to look like that, what could have happened to make someone so empty? Fighting the urge to go over to his big brother he continued to watch him, not noticing when someone sat next to him at the table he was sitting at, his lunch left untouched.

"Why don't you go and talk to him?" Shook Nathan from his somewhat trance like state and his head shot toward the direction he had heard the voice from.

Coach Whitey sat next to him, a smirk on his weatherbeaten face, his eyebrows raised in question. Nate cleared his dry throat and spoke quietly, "I've never spoken to him before, I'm not allowed to." Whiteys' eyebrows raised even higher than Nathan had though possible and studied Nates' face.

"Why aren't you allowed to talk to him? God knows the kid looks like he could do with a chat to his little brother." It was Nates' turn to raise his eyebrows. Sure everyone knew of the relationship between Dan, Nate and Luke, just as everyone knew that they had nothing to do with him, but no-one had ever spoken about it before, at least not to Nathan.

"My dad told me years ago that I wasn't allowed to talk to him, I think Lucas' mom doesn't want us to have anything to do with him, its all to do with my dad marrying my mom instead of her, she told my dad she'd take him away and we'd never see him again. I don't want that to happen, seeing him has to be better than nothing, right?"

Whitey had known about Karens' ultimatum for years, Dan had confided in him when Lucas was just a baby, it still shocked him now just how vindictive Karen had become and for some reason he feared for the little boy in the middle of it. He'd kept an eye on Lucas as often as he could, it becoming easier when he had enroled in the high school. He had noticed the changes over the years, the withdrawn nature of the boy, the bruises that were just out of sight unless you were looking for them, the occasional facial wound that was explained away as a fight after school or tripping over. Talking to Lucas was an experience in itself, he was articulate, intelligent but quiet, as though he feared something if he said too much, he didn't speak often but when he did it was usually important.

Whitey felt useless, he had spoken to other members of staff about his fears but they didn't share his suspicions, passing Lucas off as a brooding teenager who fell over once in a while or pissed off one too many bullies on occasion. He didn't know what to do for the best, he had no evidence, nothing concrete, just a feeling, but he would keep looking for some evidence, a clue, just in case. He just hoped he was wrong, because if he was right then that poor boy had dealt with it for 16 years, the mental scars that would leave could destroy someone for life.

He felt sympathy for Nathan, a kid who obviously wanted a relationship with his brother, and he hoped that some day soon they would be able to connect, be a family. Whitey knew the inner struggle that Dan had gone through when chosing to marry Deb instead of Karen, knowing he would lose his little boy, but he couldn't marry someone he didn't love over someone who meant so much to him, so he hoped that just seeing Lucas would be enough, even if he couldn't talk to him. Dan had regretted leaving his little boy ever since, he hadn't regretted marrying Deb though, but he wished he would have known how hard it would be to see his son and be able to do nothing. Whitey knew Dan was worried that Lucas would think Dan never wanted him and that pained him more than anything.

What a shameful, spiteful web Karen had weaved over these three Scotts.

"Its a shame you can't talk to him, he's a good kid really, and a hell of a basketball player from what I've seen, I wish we could get him on the team." Nathans' eyes lit up at the thought.

"Maybe you could get him on the team, then I'd be able to talk to him, even if it was just as a team mate, maybe Karen wouldn't mind that."

"Maybe, son, maybe." Whitey knew it would be futile trying, Karen wouldn't let that kid play. He had nothing to lose though, maybe he could try, if only to get a relationship between the two youngest Scotts.

Both men looked over at Lucas as he stretched waking from his slumber, both noticed the wince and the look of pain as he did, they looked at each other, worry in both sets of eyes and looked back to Lucas as he slowly made his way back into the school.

Lunch was over.

_xxx_

"Lucas Scott, can you please come up here and complete this problem."

Luke sighed and gingerly lifted his aching body out of his seat, biting back a gasp of pain as the action caused the flesh on his back to pull. He slowly ambled his way to the front of the class, taking the chalk from the outstretched hand of his Math teacher. Reaching the board he quickly scanned over the problem before filling in the correct answer. He started his way back to the chair when the voice of his teacher stopped him.

"Very good, Mr. Scott, now could you please tell the rest of the class how you came to that answer."

Sighing again he faced the class, his head bowed he muttered how he had completed the problem, fighting his frustration when yet again his teacher spoke.

"Please speak up Lucas, I would like the whole class to hear this."

Blushing crimson as the rest of the class snickered at him, he looked up, meeting the identical blue eyes of his baby brother. He stuttered as he studied Nates' face, realising his brother was smiling warmly at him, and he gave a small smile in return before once again explaining how he had solved the problem, only this time his voice was strong and confident, as if his brother had given him some inner strength.

Maybe there is someone who wants him after all.

_xxx_

**A/N:** Please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter Two

**Storyline: **What if Lucas' life was very different, what if Karen was the bad one, not Dan, can anyone pull Lucas from his nightmare existance?

Chapter Two

In hindsight, it may not have been a good idea, but it sure made Nate feel better. His brother had actually smiled at him, the first real connection between them ever. The only problem was, what if Lucas told Karen and she took it the wrong way, she could take Lucas and then they'd never see him again. True it would only be two years before Lucas was classed as an adult and he would be free to do whatever he wanted and live on his own, but Nate didn't want his brother to go. What if he never saw him again?

Nate was also worried that Lucas might try to approach him, then there really would be trouble. Nate's only option would be to ignore Lucas if he tried to talk to him and pray he wouldn't say anything to Karen. It was breaking Nate's heart to do it, but it would be the only way he could still see his brother.

Making his mind up to talk to his father about it when he got home, Nate steeled himself to bolt from the classroom as soon as the lesson ended, he had practise to get to and a brother to avoid.

_xxx_

Lucas had no plans to talk to Nate, just a smile had been enough, something he could cling to. He didn't want to risk approaching his brother and be rejected, he'd been through that so many times and he didn't think he could handle it again. _Anyway, he probably felt sorry for me, who'd want a loser like me for a brother. My mom's right I shouldn't exist, I'm pointless, why cause anyone else misery. _Instead Luke would hold on to that smile from his baby brother, I'd hadn't been a lot, but to Lucas it meant everything.

As soon as the bell rang, Nate bolted from the classroom. Lucas stood gingerly and collected his belongings, bracing himself for the walk home and what would await him when he got home. Shuffling awkwardly, he made it to the classroom door when he was hit in back by the bag of one of his classmates as they exited the room in a hurry, leaving Lucas alone in the classroom, it having emptied rapidly of students and the teacher. A hit that to anyone else would have been nothing cause Lucas to fall to his knees, He could feel the blood trickling down his back. Being hit had caused the already tender skin to split and tear and he was in agony. He sat abruptly on the classroom floor, lacking the energy to get up and began to sob, the pain being too much to handle in his fragile emotional state. With his back to the open door he failed to notice his brother standing in the doorway, staring in horror.

_xxx_

Muttering to himself about being killed by the coach, Nate retraced his steps back to the classroom, in his haste to avoid Lucas he had left his bag behind. As his eyes took in the scene before him they widened in shock, he had stilled in the doorway and was silent. There on the floor of the classroom sat his big brother, sobbing heavily, gasping in what sounded like pain. This though was not what shocked Nate the most, what caused the knife to his heart was the rapidly reddening white shirt that stuck to his brothers back, the blood soaking through heavily, he could even see some small drips on the floor behind Lucas' shaking form. He didn't think he had ever seen someone so distressed in his life and his heart lurched sickeningly toward his throat.

Stepping forward slowly Nate reached his brother almost instantly, his footsteps silent in the wake of the violent sobbing coming from Lucas. He touched Lukes' shoulder tenderly and was shocked at the violent flinch his brother gave. Nate, not being deterred sat right next to his big brother and did the only thing that felt right at that moment, he took his sobbing brother into his arms and held him, rocking slowly. Lucas' hands grabbed fistfuls of Nates shirt, holding on for dear life to the first hug he had ever recieved, the hug that gave him so much comfort and took his mind off some of the pain. He had no idea who was holding him but it felt familiar and he didn't want to let go.

The two siblings sat there for a few minutes, both desperate not to let go. Lucas needed the comfort and warmth and Nate needed to hold his brother, to console him. After his sobbing had eased, Lucas looked to who was holding him and was shocked to see his baby brother looking back, his blue eyes filled with warmth and concern.

"Luke, what happened to your back?" Nate said softly, so he wouldn't spook the obviously terrified Lucas. Lukes eyes widened and he said nothing, his hand going to his back, feeling the familiar thick fluid soaking his shirt. Nate's hand went to Lukes back and slowly lifted his shirt, gasping as he saw the marks marring the skin , the bruised and bleeding flesh and the older scarring evident. The cigarette burns at the base of his brothers back sickened him. He quickly scanned over the marks, the blood flowing freely from several open wounds, the marks resembling that of a whip or belt. He knew then that his brother had been tortured and he clenched his fists in anger, breathing deeply so he wouldn't scare him by losing his temper in front of him. _God knows, he must see enough of that already._

Hearing the shocked gasp from his brother Luke was afraid, Chris would kill him. He gathered his energy as he felt Nate lift his shirt higher exposing more of the wounds. Startling Nate, Lucas rose to his feet, smothering a gasp of pain and fled from the classroom as fast as he could. His back was still bleeding profusely, but he needed to get away so he ignored the pain as best as he could and dissappeared out of the school.

To say Lucas had startled Nate would be an understatement, so he was out of the school before Nate had gotten halfway down the hallway. Still chasing him Nate reached the front of the school, but his brother was long gone. Nathan was terrified, the only rational explanation for Lukes' injuries would be if he was being abused at home, it was obvious that this had been going on for many years, judging by the horrifying state of his brothers back, the scars mottled his flesh leaving no part of his back unblemished.

There was no way that Luke could live like that any longer so Nate did what instinct told him to, he rushed home to his father, the man who he hoped could fix this, could bring Luke home to them, where he rightfully belonged.

_xxx_

He reached home quicker than he normally would, hoping to stem the damage as best he could before Nate could say anything, Chris would be so mad, he had threatened Lucas to keep his mouth shut. Now Nate knew and there would be big trouble. He silently slipped in, hoping that they hadn't found out someone knew already, before he could tell them. His eyes instantly fell on Chris and Karen on the couch and they glared at him.

"You little shit, what the fuck you looking at." Chris snarled.

Lowering his eyes Lucas managed to mumble, "Sorry sir, but I need to tell you something."

Chris raised his eyebrows in amusement and laughed out "What the fuck would you have to tell me that I would be interested in?"

Lucas quickly choked out what had happened, knowing he would get beaten but hoping because he had been the one to tell them that it wouldn't be too bad. He was wrong. As soon as the words left Lucas' mouth, Chris lept from the couch and lunged at Lukes' frail form, his eyes spitting fire. This time there was no control, as much as he had been injured in the past, this was about to get much worse. Chris didn't care about keeping the injuries to Lukes' back anymore, he just threw him to the ground and began kicking and punching him violently, wherever he could lay his hands. Luke couldn't take it anymore, and he screamed out in pain, earning himself a kick around the head, and a punch in the face.

Blows rained down on him and he continued to scream out, not being able to hold it in any longer, he felt his wrist snap and some of the bones in his chest crack as he was stamped upon. _Why won't God help me?_

_xxx_

Dan was driving like a maniac, Nate in the seat next to him, eyes wide and terrified. _This is my fault, I left my little boy there, I should have done more, he's been tortured because of me. Oh god, my baby boy. _Dan pulled up outside Karen's house and lept from the car, engine still running. He had called the police on the way, but he couldn't leave his little boy, he had to make sure he was okay, Karen wasn't going to keep him anymore, not now.

He stopped in his tracks as he heard heartwrenching screams of pain from Karens' house and he knew his little boy was in trouble. Shaking out of the shock, both Dan and Nate began hammering on the door. As the screams got louder they hammered harder, just as Dan was about to kick down the door, there was a final wail, quieter than the others but more agonising to those hearing it, because it meant that Lucas was giving up, was slipping into unconciousness, and Dan could only pray he wasn't too late.

_xxx_

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews so far, I'm not sure about any pairings yet, I'm trying to concentrate on Luke at the moment, but let me know what you want and I'll see what I can do. I hope you like this and I hope you review, i'll try and be quicker with the next update. Please Review!


	4. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Tree Hill nor claim to, please don't sue!

**Storyline: **What if Lucas' life was very different, what if Karen was the bad one, not Dan, can anyone pull Lucas from his nightmare existance?

**A/N:**Okay, so I really thought about where I want this to go, I decided that unless it flows into the story naturally, there probably won't be any pairings, not that I am totally going against the idea, but I don't want to force it into the storyline if it doesn't need it or feel right. I hope you'll all keep reading though.

Chapter Three

He felt as if he was floating, as if he was looking down on himself, like he wasn't in his own body. By the looks of the beating he was receiving, that could only be a good thing. He could hear a muffled banging from somewhere, as his body was abused. It was a strange feeling to be looking down on yourself, he could see the blood pooling around his head, the bruising quickly emerging on the skin of his pale face. The whining emerging from his mouth was a foreign noise, he hadn't heard anything so pitiful in his whole life. The face of his stepfather was snarled in rage, looking more and more like the rabid animal he had become.

The banging became louder, sounding as if it was inside his own head, he could hear shouting now, coming through the door, the voice of his brother and another male voice, unfamiliar, yet comforting. It sounded like an older man, the voice roughened with age filled with anger and concern at the same time. Both voices screaming out his name, the older voice finally shouting out that the police were on their way. This stopped Chris in his tracks, he threw a panicked look at Karen. They both looked down at Lucas' unconscious form and back up to each other, the terror clearly showing on their faces. In a split second a choice had obviously been made and both Chris and Karen fled, grabbing a few needed items on their way out of the back door, hopefully to freedom.

Lucas looked on from his abstract vantage point, his body was a mess, bleeding, broken, he could hear his own breathing, wheezing struggling for breath from inside his crushed chest. His body was giving up, dying even, and he wanted to go along with it. Instead, he found himself being pulled back into it, his eyes fluttering open, the pain in his body immense and horrifying. He jumped as the door behind him was thumped on harder, this time there were more voices. He could hear shouting, managing to catch the phrase "Police, open up or the door will be broken down." Followed by "Stand back from the door right now."

The door shattered with a crash and he heard the commotion surround him. He was prodded by a roughened hand and he flinched violently, not wanting to be touched. The action of flinching caused a strong ripple of pain throughout his form and he screamed as loud as he could, crying now, not caring any more who saw or heard. He heard gasps as the people around him looked down upon him, taking in his blood drenched frame shaking in terror.

He heard his name being called and he looked to his right, seeing his baby brother staring back at him his eyes wide and shocked at Luke's state, soothing him with his words and stroking his forehead with his thumb. "Luke, its gonna be okay, the ambulance is coming, they're gonna take care of you. We'll be with you the whole time, we're not leaving you again." As Nate's words sunk in, Luke croaked out one utterance, "We?"

"Yeah, Luke, me and Dad, we're gonna take care of you now." Dan stepped into Luke's' view, his face streaked with tears at the sight of his broken eldest son, his heart breaking. Luke looked at him and shuddered in pain, he didn't have any idea how to feel about the man who had abandoned him, and the pain was clouding his thoughts too much for him to figure it out. Finally Luke's body started fighting against conciousness and he passed out with a whimper.

_xxx_

It was like a nightmare, he could hear the whimpers of his son and the sounds of flesh being struck, bones cracking, but he was helpless to stop them, he couldn't get through the door, no matter how hard he tried. All he could do was shout through the solid door and hope his son could hear that he was trying to help him. He yelled out about the police coming and all noise stopped. _Finally, I hit a nerve._ He could hear scrambling inside the house and the bang of the back door, but he ignored it, as the police arrived and proceeded to knock the door off its hinges.

His chest tightened as he took in the bloody mess of his first born son crumpled on the stained carpeting. His blonde hair streaked red, his worryingly pale face bruised and battered. Before he could say a word, one of the policemen called an ambulance and touched Lucas on the shoulder. Dan almost began sobbing as his son flinched violently and howled in pain. Nate ran to his big brothers side, he was whispering to him, comforting him, his hand brushing Luke's bloody forehead. He heard Luke's whispered "We?" before he locked eyes with his son. Lucas's blue eyes pained and scared, before he finally passed out.

Nate began to panic, and had to be soothed by Dan. After what seemed like hours the ambulance finally arrived, the men quickly assessing what injuries they could, radioing into the hospital. Dan heard snippets of conversation "Multiple fractures and breaks... severe contusions... blood loss... possible pneumothorax on the left side." He was scared that he could lose his son, just as he had gotten him back. He watched, feeling detached as Lucas was lifted onto a stretcher and removed from the house. He followed in silence, listening to Nate talking as he trotted next to the stretcher. He snapped out of his daze as Nate climbed into the ambulance next to his brother, "Nate, I'll follow the ambulance to the hospital." He shouted to his youngest son, receiving a nod in reply as the doors shut.

_xxx_

Nate had never felt so scared in his whole life. It had been sickening to hear the screams and whimpers of his brother as he was beaten, and when he has finally seen the state he was in he wanted to cry. He had held strong though, soothing and comforting Lucas, wanting him to feel safe even through all the pain. In the ambulance, he watched as his brother was worked on, a oxygen mask covering his face, and his body covered in wires. He was basically soaked in blood, all his clothes saturated, sodden with the bright red liquid. Nate felt sick, the metallic smell hitting his nostrils, making him gag.

When they finally reached the hospital, he could only follow the stretcher so far, before he was told he couldn't pass the next point. Before he could protest, his brother was wheeled away and the doors slammed shut. He was afraid, his brother looked bad, sick and pale. He was scared his brother would die. His father shouldered his way through the entrance and raced to his side, holding him, whispering over and over that it would be okay, that they would take care of Lucas and he would come home with them. Nate could only pray, he was right.

Dan filled in all of the forms on Lucas, giving permission for any surgery needed, but he felt woefully capable of writing the medical history or allergies about his son, he knew none of these things, his son was a stranger to him. He had no idea of anything his son liked or hated, his interests, he had failed his little boy.

_xxx_

The two Scott men, paced the floor of the waiting room for hours, being joined by Deb as soon as she had gotten wind of what had taken place. Deb had seen Lucas around, the thin, but beautiful boy, his bright blue eyes and golden hair. She had seen the dejection in his eyes at times and her heart had lurched for him. Now knowing what he had been subjected to for what was likely to be years, she was feeling guilty. It was her fault that Lucas had been left with Karen instead of being with Dan, she could only hope that Dan wouldn't blame her for this.

A doctor came through the doors, his scrubs covered in blood, and Dan cringed. "Lucas Scott" was called and the three of them walked forward.

The doctor, spoke, his voice, clear and concise, not wanting any misunderstandings. He spoke using simple medical terms so not to confuse. "Lucas has some significant injuries, but we believe that he will make a full recovery with time and care. Due to the blunt trauma to his chest he has several broken ribs and his left lung collapsed, we inserted a tube into his chest and this has now resolved itself. He also received a broken wrist and fractures to his collarbone and left ankle. He also has severe bruising to his torso and face, and many lacerations, his back was in a particularly poor state and he received sutures to the worst wounds. Luckily he has no internal bleeding but he does have some bruising to his left kidney. This may cause blood in his urine but should heal itself, we will however keep a close eye on that. He also lost a large amount of blood from the lacerations, particularly from his facial wounds, we gave him several pints of blood and all looks good in that area."

Dan took all of the information in slowly, his son had been beaten badly, but he would be okay, physically at least, mentally however Dan knew they were in for a rough ride, especially as Karen and Chris had gotten away in all of the chaos. "How long will he have to stay here?" Dan asked.

"We expect that barring any complications that Lucas will be able to leave in about a week." was the reply.

"Can we see him?" Nate whispered.

"I'll take you to him, he's very tired at the moment and obviously very sore, although he is on pain relief. He looks rather bruised and swollen, but that will go down, in time."

"How many sutures did he have?" Deb asked quietly.

"Well, with all the lacerations we found on his back, plus the injuries to his face and chest, he received about ninety sutures in all. These will have to be removed, but all this will be organised."

_Ninety? God he must be in so much pain. _Nate thought.

_xxx_

They entered Lucas' room in silence, taking in the image of the battered slumbering Lucas, his face, swollen and severely bruised, several cuts on his face, his wrist and ankle encased in casts. Nate wondered to his bedside and took Luke's good hand in his, squeezing gently in comfort. One of Luke's eyes shot open and he looked around in panic, his other eye swollen shut. He spotted the smiling sight of his little brother and gave a small smile in return, feeling comforted and safe for some reason. He looked further around the room and spotted, in the doorway, an uncomfortable looking Deb and a concerned looking Dan. Lucas stiffened, he had no reason to trust his father, he abandoned him, left him to his fate, but now he was here.

Nate watched as Lucas spotted his father and saw how his eyes clouded in confusion. He gripped his brothers hand tighter and Luke looked back to him, meeting his identical eyes. Lucas, for the first time in his life felt loved. It was a new feeling, unfamiliar and yet addictive, the look in Nates' eyes was painful and comforting at the same time, a desperation in the blue depths. Lucas did the only thing he could at that moment, he began to cry. Great heaving sobs, a mixture of mental and physical pain causing anguished moans to leave his lips. He felt broken, but he wasn't alone and for that he was grateful.

At the sight of Lucas crying, Nathan held his brother, wrapping his arms around him and holding his shaking body, a repeat of the incident in the classroom, only this time, they weren't alone. Dan approached the bed, and reached for his two sons, holding them as both began to cry, years of torment being released and grieved for. Lucas holding on for dear life to both his father and brother, feeling comfort and strangely a sense of belonging. Maybe he could begin to heal. It would be a long and difficult process, but he was determined to try.

Deb stood back and watched as another member joined their family, this one would be fragile and scared, but she was determined to help fix the broken boy lying in the hospital bed.

_xxx_

**A/N: **Okay, so another chapter, I hope you enjoy this one, the next one should be up soon. Please review and let me know your opinions so far. Thankies and Ta Muchly!


	5. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Tree Hill nor claim to, please don't sue!

**Storyline: **What if Lucas' life was very different, what if Karen was the bad one, not Dan, can anyone pull Lucas from his nightmare existence?

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter I'm glad you guys liked it, the next chapter is here for you guys. Enjoy.

Chapter Four

Lucas was propped up and motionless in the bed, his body throbbing, his mind anguished and confused.

Nothing made sense any more. Why was Dan here? He'd never wanted him before, his mother had told him that, he'd been the reason Dan had left in the first place. He felt great comfort in the presence of Nathan, his little brother filled him with a sense of warmth and belonging. Since his breakdown in the hospital he hadn't uttered a word to anyone but Nathan. He wouldn't even speak to any doctors or nurses that entered the room. Instead he would wait until he was alone with his brother before speaking to him in hushed tones.

"Luke, why won't you talk to anyone?" Nathan spoke softly to his obviously troubled older brother.

"I don't know who I can trust." He whispered back, his eyes showing his fear.

Nathan's heart splintered at the simple yet painful statement. His big brother couldn't trust anyone, because he'd always been let down, he was meant to be protected and loved, yet he'd been punished and tortured for what amounted to most of his life. _This isn't meant to happen, your mother isn't meant to beat you, hurt you, she's meant to cherish you, look after you._ Nathan thought.

He was shook out of these thoughts when Lucas spoke again in the same whispered tone. "Why does everyone hate me?"

"What are you talking about, no one hates you Luke." Nate said quickly, trying to control his anger at how worthless and lonely Lucas had been made to feel.

"My mother and Chris hate me, Dan hates me, you hate me, everyone hates me, I have nothing, no one, I am nothing." He began to sob, his voice growing louder and more anguished. Finally he whispered "I think they broke me." Before dissolving into tears once again. His body racking with painful sobs.

Nate reached out and took Lucas' face between his hands and pulled his head up to look directly in his brothers eyes. "Listen to me Lucas, your mother and stepfather were evil, parents aren't like that, not normal ones anyway. You aren't alone, you're loved, I love you, I always have, you're my big brother. Dad loves you, he's wanted you since he saw you as a baby, your mom was the one that stopped us seeing you. She got mad when Dad wouldn't marry her and she told him to stay away from you or she'd take you away from us, Dad didn't want to let you go, but he figured seeing you from far away would be better than nothing."

Lucas looked at him, trying desperately to believe the words coming from Nate's mouth. Would his mother really do that? Why would she lie? "If Dan loves me so much, why won't he come near me?" Lucas cried.

"Oh God Luke, he thinks you hate him, he doesn't want you to hate him. He figures that because he left you with your mom that you'll think he abandoned you. He loves you, just like I do, its been so hard seeing you at school and not talking to you, but I couldn't risk your mom taking you away, I'd have never forgiven myself. I don't think Dad can forgive himself for leaving you there. Every thing's such a mess, but you're not alone, you have me, you have Dad and you have my mom." Nathan told him.

"I don't hate him, I never did, I just wanted him to talk to me. My mom told me he left her because of me, that if I wasn't born he would have stayed with her and she could have been happy. Its my fault, I deserved everything I got, I should be punished, I'm a bad person, I shouldn't even exist." He said, his eyes hollow and lifeless. Nathan grew angry, he ached to find Karen and Chris and make them pay for breaking his big brother. _This isn't how things are supposed to be._

"Lucas this isn't your fault, Dad didn't marry your mom because he didn't love her, he would never have married her. He wanted you but your mom told him that if she couldn't have him, then you didn't deserve him either, she was selfish and spiteful. it's not your fault it's never been your fault." Nathan looked him directly in the eyes, identical blue meeting identical blue. "Do you understand me Lucas, this isn't your fault, don't let them win, don't let them break you forever. Do you understand?"

Lucas couldn't break away from Nate's stare, and he searched his baby brothers eyes, finding only honesty and an overwhelming sense of love present. _Can I trust him?_ He looked again, and Nate stood fast, realising his brother was trying to figure out if he could trust him. Finally Luke sighed and nodded, "I understand, I trust you."

_xxx_

Dan stood outside the door of the hospital room, listening hard as his two sons spoke in hushed tones. He could hear the anguish in both their voices and ached to comfort them, he just felt so bad about what had happened, he didn't want his son to hate him. He heard every word spoken between the two boys and was thankful when Lucas began to understand. Dan felt incredibly guilty, not only for Lucas' life so far, but for leaving Nate to handle the aftermath with Luke. He just didn't know what to say to make it better, to make it right again. _How can anything ever be right again?_

Dan pushed open the door to the room and took in the scene before him. Both his sons were on the bed, Luke's face was tear stained but held a small smile and Nate looked tired but happy. They both looked toward their father as he entered the room, Luke's eyes becoming guarded and Dan's heart sank at the lack of trust that had become ingrained into Luke's life.

"How are you Luke?" He asked his eldest son, not expecting a reply, after all he hadn't spoken to him at all, let alone the last two days he'd spent in the hospital.

"I'm okay, he croaked out, I'm a bit sore though." He whispered, shocking his father, and Dan had to strain to hear him.

"I'll talk to the doctor, see if you can't get some better painkillers."

"Thanks." Luke replied before looking at his little brother, who had begun biting his nails. The room fell silent, the kind of silence that makes you squirm, uncomfortable and awkward.

Dan broke the silence."The police want to talk to you Luke, about what happened, what's been happening." Luke looked up quickly, biting back a hiss of pain as he pulled some of the sutures on his back.

"I don't want to talk to them, please don't make me." He said pitifully.

"Luke, you have to talk to them, you can't let your mom and Chris get away with what they did to you. They need to find them and put them in prison, what they did was wrong, you know that." Nate said quickly.

Lucas shuddered, he turned to Nathan and whispered so quietly that only his brother could hear him. "What if I tell the police and my mom and Chris find out, they'll come back for me, make me pay. I couldn't take any more."

"Never happen big bro, I won't let it. You said you trusted me, well trust me on this, we'll never let them hurt you again and neither will the police." Nate whispered, just as quietly and was glad when Lucas nodded. "Will you talk to the police then? I'll be here if you want and so will dad." Luke nodded again.

Dan watched the interaction between his two sons. Maybe things would work out, Lucas seemed to trust Nate, to listen to him. _Nathan can get through to him_. Dan was glad when Nate looked to him and said confidently, "He'll talk, but I'm not leaving him alone, either they do it with me in the room or they don't talk at all." Dan nodded, amazed at the confident picture that Nathan made. _Maybe it will all work out._

_xxx_

Lucas was chatting with Nathan when the detectives arrived. Both brothers stared at them as they entered the room, their eyes wary. The detectives looked to each other, both slightly shocked at the state of Lucas, although the swelling had gone down somewhat, his face was still severely bruised and marred with cuts. They walked towards the bed slowly, watching as Luke involuntarily flinched as they approached.

"Hello Lucas, I'm Detective Duquette and this is Detective Crawford but you can call us John and Andy. We've come to talk to you about your mother and stepfather. As you're under-age you can have your father in the room if you wish." John spoke softly so he wouldn't spook the obviously distressed Lucas.

"I want Nate to stay." Luke whispered.

Before they could say anything, Nate butted in. "I'm not leaving him, either you talk to Lucas with me here, or he won't talk to you at all."

John and Andy looked at each other again, slightly shocked by the aggressive and obviously protective tone from the youngest Scott. They turned to Nate and nodded their okay, realising Nathan wasn't going to leave his brother and that Lucas wouldn't talk to them if Nate left. They had spoken to Lucas' doctors who had informed them of the situation where Lucas hadn't talked to anyone but Nate for days, and they didn't want to force him back to that.

They levered themselves into the two empty chairs in the room, pulling them as close to Luke as possible as Nathan sat on Luke's bed. Lucas looked panicked, as if he was trapped and his eyes darted towards his brother, alerting him to his distress. Nathan took Luke's hand and squeezed it, whispering to him and nodding when Luke whispered back.

"Will you move back a bit, you're crowding him." Nate growled out protectively. The two shuffled the chairs farther back and watched as Lucas visibly relaxed, not much but it was something.

_This is gonna be a tough one. _John thought.

_xxx_

They asked question after question, some of them so painful for Lucas to answer that he sobbed as he spoke, holding Nate's hand for dear life, drawing strength from his brother.

Luke's answers brought tears to Nate's eyes, his heart breaking and his anger rising as Lucas bared his soul for all to see, opening raw wounds, splitting already broken skin.

The two detectives spoke rarely, asking periodic questions and just letting Lucas talk, knowing if they pushed him to hard he would clam up, instead letting him release information as he felt able. They were both disgusted as they heard of Lucas life, his ordeals, and at times they felt themselves clenching their fists. The boy in front of them had a scarred soul, his life damaged and torn, his mind barely hanging on. Karen and Chris had tried to break him and they had almost succeeded, only they hadn't anticipated the connection between brothers. John and Andy saw the silver lining in the cloud, the bond between Lucas and Nathan was strong, they'd basically just met but were already inseparable from each other, protectiveness and love flowing between them. Nathan protected Lucas as he was the weaker, but the protectiveness from Luke had begun to seep through too, at times during Luke's interview Nathan had cried for his brother and Lucas had comforted him, a strange situation, but there nonetheless.

Both detectives could see the beginnings of repair in Lucas and Nathan would be the one to help fix him.

_xxx_

**A/N: **Another chapter finished, I hope you like it. Let me know opinions. Please review.


	6. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Tree Hill nor claim to, please don't sue!

**Storyline: **What if Lucas' life was very different, what if Karen was the bad one, not Dan, can anyone pull Lucas from his nightmare existence?

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter. Sorry its taken a while to update, but I've been pretty sick. Here's a new chapter, I hope you like!

Chapter Five

His breathing hitched. _I'm not ready for this._ He thought. _I can't do this, its too hard._ His whole body felt drained and he unconsciously trembled.

Lucas had been in hospital for just over a week and they were letting him go. He would be going 'home' with Nathan, Dan and Deb and he felt lost. His world had suddenly shifted off its axis and he was spinning out of control. Everything was different, he had people there for him now. Well Nate at least, he was still extremely unsure about Dan and he had no idea how Deb felt about him.

The feelings coursing through him were unfamiliar and had shaken him to his core. This was all new and more than slightly scary. To be in a world that didn't involve pain and abuse was foreign. How screwed up was it that the world that frightened him was the one that didn't cause him pain. Karen and Chris had really fucked him up.

He sat stationary on the edge of the hospital bed, his meagre belongings in a bag next to him. The bruising on his face was still prominent although the swelling had subsided. His wrist and ankle were still encased in the weighty casts, although the one on his ankle was a walking cast, designed to enable him to move freely. His injured wrist was held in a sling, supporting his fractured collarbone. The sutures in his wounds were still present but they would be removed in a few days. It hurt him to breathe due to his broken ribs and his back was extremely painful, the sutures pulling easily. He hated using the pain killers they gave him but the pain would be crippling without them.

As he sat deep in thought the door in front of him opened, causing his head to shoot up quickly and he bit back a hiss of pain that the action caused. He visibly relaxed as the form entering the room was that of his little brother and gave Nate a small smile, receiving a beaming grin in return.

"I'm busting your ass out of here bro." Nate chuckled, Lucas for the first time noticing the wheelchair Nate was pushing. Dan and Deb were both hovering in the doorway smiling at Lucas.

Luke gave a small smile, trying to hide his distress by avoiding eye contact with his baby brother, but Nate saw right through it, easily picking up on Luke's agitated state. He approached him slowly and spoke softly.

"Hey, what's wrong Luke? Don't you wanna get out of this place?"

"Sure." He whispered, just loud enough for only Nate to catch, "But I feel so lost, I don't know what I'm doing any more. I'm more afraid of everything new than I am of everything that happened in the past. Back then I knew what to expect and although it hurt me badly it was predictable and stable and I could never be taken by surprise because I was always expecting something bad to happen. Now everything is so different, I feel like I'm falling so fast and I don't know what will happen when I hit the ground." This time he spoke loud enough for Dan and Deb to hear.

Dan's heart pounded wildly and he looked to his wife. Deb's face held a look of sympathy and regret, but Dan could see the underlying anger she obviously held towards those who had hurt Lucas, it was the maternal instinct to protect the young, and although she wasn't Luke's mother she still felt that motherly protection towards him.

Nathan's face held concern for the obvious fragile mental state of his brother and he ached to make it all better. "Luke, its unpredictable yes, but it's safe, I won't let anything happen to you and neither will Dad or my Mom. You're coming home, the place that should have been your home in the first place. Its gonna be hard, but its gonna get better Luke, trust me on that." He smiled reassuringly at his older brother, willing him to relax and drop out of his agitated state.

They watched as Luke's once rigid and tense form relaxed and he looked up, giving Nathan a wide grin and both Dan and Deb a small timid smile. "Okay lets go home." He said quietly. The battle, for now, had been won.

_xxx_

The hospital bustled with people and he tried to cover his face as he was wheeled through the corridors towards the exit. He felt the stares as people caught sight of his battered face and he felt ashamed. He was unaware of the death glares being handed out by Nate to those who dared to stare, Lucas didn't need those people making him nervous and self concious. Just as they reached the entrance Nate spotted three females, all familiar to him and he inwardly groaned, this would be difficult to explain and he really didn't want to upset his brother.

Brooke, Peyton and Haley walked slowly and carelessly toward the hospital entrance, chattering between themselves. As they reached the entrance, the trio spotted a familiar face, Nathan Scott was exiting the hospital, pushing a wheelchair which held a battered blonde boy and was being closely followed by his parents. The three girls exchanged curious looks, then looked back to Nathan once more.

Nathan looked down to his brother who seemed to be paying no attention to the trio of girls staring at him, he looked dazed and shaken and Nate was instantly worried, ignoring the girls he squatted down to his brothers seated height and looked him in the eyes. "You okay Luke?" He said softly.

Lucas shook his head, clearing the daze. "Yeah, just remembering things I rather wouldn't, sometimes they sneak up on me."

Nathan spoke again, he'd have to warn his brother what was about to happen. "Luke, the girls over there..." He gestured behind him discretely "are friends of mine, and they're going to want to know what happened to you and why you're with me, because they all know our family story. What do you want me to say to them about what happened? Its your call, I don't want to tell them anything that will make you uncomfortable."

"Do you trust them?" Luke asked

"Yeah, they're good people."

"Well then tell them the truth." He whispered.

"If you're sure." Nate asked and Luke nodded. Nathan looked up and met the eyes of his parents, who were looking confused at Nate's sudden stop. "Everything okay?" Dan asked worriedly.

"Every thing's fine." The two said in unison, both looking to each other in astonishment and laughing. Dan and Deb both smiled at the sight of the bond developing between Lucas and Nathan.

_xxx_

"Isn't that Nathan? Who's the blonde guy he's with?" Brooke asked.

"I dunno, he looks familiar though." Peyton answered. All three girls watched as Nathan crouched down in front of the blonde guy and began to talk to him. After a few minutes Nathan stood up, returning behind the wheelchair to push it once more, heading in their direction. Peyton noted the anxious look in the blonde's eyes and the protective look in Nathan's. Brooke stared at the blonde's face, looking over the bruising and cuts that marred his skin, whilst Haley stood silently looking at both boys who were being followed by Dan and Deb.

Nathan soon reached the trio. "Hey, what are you all doing here?" Nathan asked.

"We could ask the same of you, don't you think." Brooke threw back quickly, curious about what was going on with the star Tree Hill High basketball player.

"Ignore her, she hasn't done enough shopping today." Haley explained, "We're here visiting a friend."

"Oh, sure." Nathan said, watching as the three girls looked pointedly at his brother in the wheelchair in front of him. "This is my brother Lucas, Lucas, this is Brooke, Peyton and Haley" He said quickly, gesturing to each girl in turn, noticing the shocked look on their faces as he identified Luke.

"Hey." Lucas said timidly, looking anywhere but at the girls as all three of them unashamedly and openly stared right at him.

"Oh, but I thought..." Brooke began, but stopped as she was elbowed by both Peyton and Haley

"Look..." Nathan sighed, "its a long story, and I promise, we'll explain it to you, but for now Luke really needs to get home."

"Okay, sure." Peyton said, speaking slowly, noticing the obvious distress both Lucas and Nathan were in.

Lucas gave a small gasp as he breathed in deeply and the pain in his chest increased, instantly both Nathan was at his side, Dan not far behind. "Luke, you okay." Lucas nodded and grasped hold of Nate's shirt.

"It just hurts to breathe sometimes." He whispered. Nate nodded and held close to his brother as the pain passed. Neither of them noticing the awe on the faces of the three girls. After a moment the two broke apart and Nate stood again, resuming his position behind his brother's wheelchair and bidding goodbye to Peyton, Brooke and Haley, pushing his brother's wheelchair toward the car that would take them home. Leaving the trio staring in disbelief as Dan and Deb followed.

"Did we just slip into another universe?" Brooke muttered.

_xxx_

Lucas felt anxious and exposed, as the three females raked their eyes over him. He listened as Nathan introduced him and muttered a small "Hey." not looking at them lest they judge him. All he wanted to do was get indoors, away from the staring and the judging that people were doing. He held his breath as Nathan began talking again, a breath that he let out deeply as his brother explained that they needed to leave. The deep breath caused a pain to ripple through his abused chest and he let out a pained gasp, sending Nate instantly to his side, comforting him. The pain subsided and Lucas thankfully noted that they were leaving, it wasn't that he minded those girls, but he really wanted to get inside and lie down, plus all the staring made him uncomfortable to say the least.

As they reached the car, he began to stand up, he would need to manoeuvre his way into the car carefully to avoid injury. As he stood his body wavered and he was quickly caught by Dan before he fell, the strong grip of his father alarmed him and sent him rushing out of his grasp, almost falling again, before landing in Nate's arms. "You okay?" Nate asked. Lucas nodded before turning to his father. He noted the hurt in Dan's eyes and felt instantly bad, it wasn't that his father scared him, because he hadn't had a reason be afraid of him yet, but his strong grip had reminded him of Chris, especially because he couldn't see who was grabbing him at the time. "Sorry." He said softly to his father, "you scared me, I couldn't see who was holding me and it reminded me of Chris."

"It's okay Luke, I shouldn't have touched you." Lucas gave a small smile to his father and took a deep breath. He would need to learn to trust this man if he hoped to have any sort of relationship with him. Lucas held out his good arm to his father as Nate held him around his waist. "Give me a hand into the car would you... Dad." Lucas said slowly and was rewarded by a look of happiness from his father and a look of pride from Nathan. Dan took Luke's arm and placed one of his own next to Nathan's around Lucas' waist, both helping him into the car.

Deb stood and watched with pride as Lucas made a small step towards a relationship with Dan. She watched as the two men she had had in her life for the longest time, helped a third one into their world.

_xxx_

**A/N:** Okay so I hope you liked this chapter, I've worked the girls into the story and I hope they will be a supportive fixture for the two boys. As I've said before I'm not going to work any romance into the story unless it flows naturally, so please no pleas for couplings although any other requests for the storyline progression will be noted and considered. I hope you like this. Sorry for the late update. Please read and review. Next chapter should be up soon.


	7. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Tree Hill nor claim to, please don't sue!

**Storyline: **What if Lucas' life was very different, what if Karen was the bad one, not Dan, can anyone pull Lucas from his nightmare existence?

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad you liked the last chapter. Sorry its taken so long to update, I've just been preoccupied at the moment, and trying to get the motivation to write. Plus I broke my wrist and haven't been able to type properly until now! Here's the next chapter, it was a difficult one to write. Enjoy!

Chapter Six

Its strange to be in this situation, to be in a house that should have been your home and to be living with the people that should have been your family, but you're in a foreign place, with people you hardly know.

He never belonged with his mother, he's in his rightful place now, with his baby brother. The brother that he hardly knows, but who he trusts so completely. It shouldn't be that easy to trust someone after everything he's been through, but funnily enough he's not worried, he somehow instinctively knows that he's safe with Nathan, that his brother loves him unconditionally.

His father however, that's a different story, he see's something in Dan's eyes that he can't work out, something that alludes him and its enough to have his senses screaming. He's hiding something, and that's never good, people who hide things are people you can't trust. So he keeps his distance.

His stepmother, Deb, he's wary of her but she doesn't seem malicious, although the emotions he sees in her confuse him. He sees the look of guilt in her eyes each time she looks at him and he wonders why. Sometimes he sees a flash of anger, but somehow he knows its not directed toward him and he's not afraid.

He wonders what people know about his situation, and he's sure that a twisted version of the tale has already made its rounds and is, as he thinks about it, being twisted again. He knows that people will stare at him, pity him, but as long as he has Nathan with him, it will all be okay.

_xxx_

Its been two days and its now officially more than she's equipped to take. Endless questions from one Brooke Davis is nothing to be laughed off and Peyton is currently curbing the urge to kill. She can't stand the constant chatter, she needs her alone time, her brooding artistic time, and definitely her sleeping time, but Brooke won't let it drop. From the moment Nathan and his brother had left the hospital parking lot, Brooke had been like a rabid dog with a meaty bone.

As Brooke's cell phone rang, Peyton breathed a sigh of relief, at last a reprieve from the constant questioning. As Brooke muttered into her phone, Peyton's mind began to wander. All she could think of was the blonde boy sitting in the wheelchair, he was battered and broken and she saw fear. She had remembered Nathan telling her about his brother, the blonde loner, the quiet brooding boy she'd seen around the school and she also remembered that Lucas' mother Karen hadn't wanted her son near his brother or his father. She felt mixed emotions as she tried to figure out the situation in her head. If Lucas was with Nathan and his father, then it was obvious that his mother wasn't in the picture any more. On one hand Peyton was happy, happy that finally Nathan could get to know his brother. On the other hand she saw the situation for what it truly was, obviously something bad had happened and she had a feeling she knew what, a feeling that made her want to be physically sick.

Her face paled and she was broken from he thoughts by a breathless Brooke. "Oh my God. So I know what happened with Nathan and his brother. Apparently his mother and stepfather have been abusing him and Nathan found out. The police got involved and went to Lucas' house where they could hear him screaming. They had to break down the door, but they got away and just left Lucas there to die." She babbled quickly.

Peyton's worst fears confirmed, she replied to Brooke. "I figured it was something like that, otherwise why would Nathan and Dan be with Lucas? You remember what Nathan told us about his brother."

"I know, but the whole thing is so teen drama, things like this happen on television, not to cute blonde boys that go to our school."

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Well we're not in a teen drama Brooke, if we were we'd be played by people in their twenties trying to pass themselves off as teens. This is real life and things like this happen all the time. Think about what Lucas must have been through. He must have been so alone. His only family either abusing him or, as he probably assumed, abandoning him. He's been tortured."

Both girls fell silent and Peyton felt so angry and at the same time overwhelmingly sad. She thought about her own situation, the death of her mother had affected her badly and she missed her everyday, but she had no excuse to feel sorry for herself. She'd had her mother at least for a short while and she still had her father to look out for her. Lucas had, had no one, he'd been abused and secluded.

"I say we go over there, Nathan did promise to explain everything to us, and I think now is as good a time as any, let me just call Hales."

"Brooke, what would make you think that this would be a good time? Its almost midnight, we're not going over there tonight, if we really have to we'll go tomorrow, and by tomorrow I mean after AM, either that or we can wait till Monday and ask Nathan at school. He's gotta come back soon, he's already missed two weeks."

"Fine, we'll go tomorrow, there's no way we're waiting till Monday, I wanna know everything now."

_Sure you do. _Peyton thought. _You always do._

_xxx_

As the doorbell rang, Lucas shot up in bed, his abused body groaning in protest at the movement. He looked across the room at his slumbering brother and gave a small smile. Noisy chatter floated from downstairs, one voice belonging to Deb, the other three voices were also female but unrecognizable to Lucas.

Nate cracked open one eye and looked toward his brother, giving him a sleepy grin when he saw him sitting up and looking at him. "You sleep okay?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, really good actually, I didn't think that I would." Lucas replied. " I think you have guests by the way, the doorbell rang and I heard your mom talking to some girls."

Nate groaned, he knew who it would be, and he was actually surprised they had waited this long to come over, especially with Brooke in the mix. He closed his eyes again, hoping that maybe he could go back to sleep and be left alone, but he had no such luck when he heard the three girls clattering up the stairs talking noisily. He looked over to Luke who had a strange expression on his face, a look somewhere between curiosity and utter terror graced his features and Nate's heart instantly went out to him.

"Luke? You okay?" Nathan asked his obviously terrified brother.

"Me? Yeah, sure." He muttered quickly and not very convincingly.

"I can tell them to leave if you want me to."

"No, its fine, I'll be fine, it's just weird having so many people around me. I'll be okay though, I've gotta get used to it at some point. He said as he gave Nate a small reassuring smile, taking a deep calming breath as evidence.

"Nathan Scott! You've got some explaining to do!" was all that was heard as the blur of Brooke Davis burst through the bedroom door, closely followed by an amused looking Haley and a worried Peyton. Neither girl noticed Lucas in the bed across the room and Luke watched quietly, torn between amusement and a small amount of fear as the three newcomers invaded the room.

Brooke began bouncing on Nathan's bed when he yawned loudly and ignored her, instead talking to Haley and Peyton who were watching him carefully and looking on in amusement at Brooke's antics. On a particularly hard bounce Brooke found herself tipping off the side of the bed and landing on the floor with a small grunt of pain. Lucas couldn't help the small chuckle that left his lips and all occupants of the room turned to look at him. The three girls looking shocked as they spotted the object of their interest sitting in the middle of a bed that wasn't usually there.

"Hey." Luke offered timidly and gave the trio a nervous smile. His smile faded as they continued to stare at him and the silence lingered, becoming uncomfortable.

Peyton, noticing the tension radiating from Lucas, approached him and held out her hand, not expecting the violent flinch that he gave as her hand reached potential striking distance. He looked up at her, giving her an apologetic look at his instinctive reaction and grasped her hand as she introduced herself. "Hey, I'm Peyton, you must be Lucas. Its really nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." he said softly the smile returning to his face.

_xxx_

Brooke practically bounced upon the spot, patience had never been one of her virtues and waiting for someone to open the door was potentially the hardest thing she'd had to do in a long time. As the door opened the blonde head of Deb Scott appeared, as she spied the three girls waiting she smiled and opened the door wider to let them in. Brooke bounded into the house closely followed by Haley and Peyton, and began talking at a mile a minute, asking Deb endless questions but not pausing for an answer. Finally Peyton clamped a hand over her mouth and politely asked if they could go up to Nathan's room. Looking worried, but having no real reason to deny them Deb granted their request and watched nervously as Brooke made for the stairs.

Practically running Brooke reached Nathan's room in record time and bellowed at the top of her lungs as she burst through the bedroom door, encountering a scared looking Nathan Scott. "Nathan Scott! You've got some explaining to do!"

As Nathan ignored her and acknowledged Haley and Peyton, she began to get frustrated. _No one ignores me and gets away with it. _Throwing herself on Nathan's bed she began bouncing, obviously irritating him, one false bounce though and she ended up on her butt, falling hard onto the carpeted floor. Hearing a small chuckle from behind her she turned abruptly, her eyes falling upon Lucas, his slight frame planted in the middle of the bed. _Oh my God, how did we not notice him there?_

Hearing his voice give out a quiet greeting she studied him, noticing the small amount of bruising and the few cuts that hadn't yet healed. Uncomfortable silence followed and she saw Peyton approach him, holding out her hand in greeting. Brooke jumped herself as Lucas violently flinched at Peyton's outstretched hand, it suddenly and shockingly dawning on her how selfish and insensitive she really had been. She hadn't stopped to really think about Lucas in all of this, sure Peyton had pointed out what he had been through, but seeing the evidence right there made her feel ashamed. _Life sucks._

_xxx_

Okay, so I'm working on the next chapter right now and for those of you reading my other fic Hollywood Hottie, I hope to have a new chapter up within the next few days. Please read and review. I love to know what you think.


End file.
